{"id":137,"date":"2020-05-27T18:06:37","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T18:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gavilansevilla.com\/en\/?p=137"},"modified":"2020-09-28T22:13:20","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T22:13:20","slug":"alameda-de-hercules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gavilansevilla.com\/en\/alameda-de-hercules\/","title":{"rendered":"Alameda de Hercules"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The oldest public garden in Europe.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not very far from the historic centre there is the Alameda of Hercules, the leisure area par excellence of Seville. It is a large urban promenade, filled with bars and restaurants, located in between the centre and the Macerena zone. It\u2019s the perfect place to go out, be it during the day or the night, have a good time, have some drinks, and enjoy the most bohemian setting of Seville.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notwithstanding, before its renovation a few years ago, this area was known for drugs and prostitution.\u00a0Because of this, the citizens remember that not so long ago it was one of the worst areas of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However now it\u2019s a space for leisure and atmosphere that doesn\u2019t mean it doesn\u2019t have a great history, as its origin goes back to the Roman times<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Its history<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This zone is in the lowest point of the city.\u00a0This means that when the river burst its banks -a quite regular event-, all of the Alameda was flooded and turned into a little lake.\u00a0It like this so often, that until the 16th<\/sup> century it was known as \u2018the Lagoon\u2019.\u00a0In fact, at various times it was necessary to cross it in little boats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was in this century of development for Seville that its mayor, the Count of Barajas, decided to drain the area using ditches, improve it and plant Poplar trees in it.\u00a0This is how its name changed to the \u2018Alameda\u2019 (poplar tree is alamo <\/em>in Spanish), and it became the oldest public garden in the world.\u00a0 The other name, \u2018de Hercules\u2019 (of Hercules) comes from, as decoration they placed two roman columns at the entrance, which came from the ruins of the temple that\u2019s in Marmoles street, on which they placed statues of Hercules and Julius Caesar, the mythical and real founders of Seville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, all of this area has always been the most humble of the city, something natural due to its distance from the Cathedral <\/a>and Alcazar<\/a>.\u00a0Therefore, over the centuries, especially due to the low acquisition power of the people, this was inhabited by individuals of a low socio-cultural condition, in the end becoming a problem for its surrounding neighbours.\u00a0As a result, not many years ago the city hall decided to renovate it, a project that lasted for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Alameda of today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With its reopening and the improved conditions, the businesses that settled here were new and modern, and little by little, small businesses opened with a fresh bohemian and alternative air.\u00a0 The Alameda had changed into what it is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Almost at the end of it there is a French mansion from the 19th<\/sup> century known as the Sirena\u2019s House, named after the mermaid statues it used to have at its entrance. Today, it\u2019s a civic centre, and workshops and exhibitions are put on inside.\u00a0There has always been a certain amount of mystery surrounding it, and they say that there is a ghost living inside \u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n